And we're back at Nationals Park for game two of this pivotal series. Feels like we just left here following last night's 13-inning, rain-delayed marathon.

The good news is, the sun is mostly shining and there doesn't appear to be any serious threat of rain tonight. So that should remove one possibility for a long night, not to mention one deterrent for fans to come to the park.

Also, Stephen Strasburg is making what will almost certainly be one of his final starts of the season in the District, so there's that. (His innings count entering tonight is … drumroll please … 139 1/3! So we're probably talking about at least three more starts, probably no more than five.)

Left-hander Paul Maholm, one of the Braves' trade deadline acquisitions, gets the start for an Atlanta club that desperately needs to win tonight or else fall seven games back in the division.

Was quite surprised to see how low the attendence was last night. Was that a function of the weather or what? I had thought there would be 30K plus for last nights game.Being here in the south I get blacked out from watching the game on MASN and have to watch it on the Braves network. Carp may not be the next Vin Scully but let me tell you he is much better than Chip Carey. Little Chip (as I call him)is a better sleep aid than anything you can buy at the store.GYFNG!!

One of our kids is representing tonight. We are having (non-baseball and very dear) friends in from out of town, so my dilemma is how to watch game day without getting caught. Lots of heading to the kitchen, I think.GYFNG!

Go back to the last post for a thorough discussion of said attendance. I flipped to 980 espn today since I was in the car a lot and 106.7 was making me want to commit crimes. They have this big commercial with a huge, echoing type voice saying – "We will be there for the SHUTDOWN and be following the final countdown" or some such BS.Seriously – it was very, I don't know, maybe Vegas? Tacky and silly.I see on twitter today that CHipper is not up to playing today – I thought as much. Our guys are just so young and have extra energy to spare. I usually think that gives us an advantage as it gets later. They really get more hyper as the other team tires. I noticed that in Milwaukee. I like they way they are fouling off more pitches and running off of first a lot. That must be hugely annoying to the other team A plus!

I think will see a much better crowd (30K) tonight, but it will be for Strasburg and 2 for 1 hot dogs. The city is still learning. I'm looking forward to being there for one of Stras last startat Nationals Park this year.

Yeah, Knoxville Nat, Chip is a chip off the old Skip block. Now that guy, may he R.I.P. was really soporific. Granddaddy, Harry on the other hand was, for me anyway, was always entertaining. F.P. (Is he on vacation or something??), Ray, and Carp are fine by me.Lets add on to our over .500 by 30 games tonight!

What an EPIC game last night! 30 games over .500? Who would've thunk it!We could very well sweep this series. And considering the Braves have to fly to the west coast and play SF (with no off day), we could get our lead over them to double digits by the end of the weekend. My only pet peeve has to do with the Lerners not wanting to pay metro to extend the service for extra inning games. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? The Lerners got a 100% tax funded stadium. The least they can do is pay the extra $300,000 it cost(can't remember where I saw that figure). Im thinking more along the lines of the playoffs, when we may have a game(s) go into extra innings. We Nats fans (who catch the train)should not have to choose between watching the end of the game, or going home and missing it. This is truly PATHETIC, and needs to be resolved ASAP!! Having said all that, GYFNG!!!!

No Chipper in the lineup but I would guess he might be available to pinch-hit off the bench.I think there was a Tuesday ticket special as well, tcostant.Doc, FP said that he'd be staying in SFO for a break after the series there. Can't recall when he was supposed to be back, though.Go, SS! Go, NATS!!

Watching some DVR of last night- watched it, just going back over some innings. Drew also had repeated mound meetings with Suzuki and they did not seem to be in sync. Drew got out of his inning but is still struggling. Morse looked awful at the plate. Maybe that means he will be the hero tonight.

Anyone else notice that the Nats, the team with the best record in baseball, are also one of the only teams that didn't try to make a serious upgrade at or near the trade deadline? The Braves got Maholm. The Dodger got Victorino and Hanley. The Giants got Pence. We got . . . . Suzuki. Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't think the Reds went looking either. We did get Werth and Tracy, but they were already ours. Just amazing what this team is accomplishing.

How great that we can insert Flores after a tough game last night. Reading lots between the line about posters not really happy with Suzuki but its still just a short time for him and he has not faced most of these NL teams. I think everything will work out for both our catchers.TV tonight but I will be back at it again tomorrow.Go Nats!!

Marty — like your general scoping out but Rizzo has for some time been saying 160 to 170 or so, so he could well squeeze another start out. One thing I'm sure both Rizzo and Davey are hoping is that Stras doesn't threaten to pitch a no-no which would force them to leave him in for more than 7. Give up a single in the first or second and then make it a 7-inning gem. As post-TJ folks are inconsistent game to game (and Stras has been showing that the second half of the season), maybe he'll take out his anger at the July 20th game against the Barves tonight.

In boz's interview on 106.7 today, he spoke for 96 seconds ( they had allowed only 90 for the topic), he guessed that it would be on the lower end of the 160-180. He talked about how the scouts are seeing mechanical signs of fatigue already. Not a surprise to those of us who watch every pitch. Davey was just on mlb, boras has weighed in. Will cooler heads begin to prevail or will this continue to be Strasmaggedon?

Ghost Of Steve M. said… King Felix promising he isn't going anywhere. I don't think he has a no trade clause so its all feel good in Seattle. August 21, 2012 5:12 PM _________________________________http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/08/21/felix-hernandez-im-not-going-anywhere-i-promiseFelix said “… you guys [will] be happy, “I’m not going nowhere … I promise.”From HardballTalk.com: "That part comes around the 6 minute mark. For what it’s worth, promises made on talk radio regarding a negotiation that won’t take place for two years is not legally binding."

Section 222 said… Serious downpour downtown. My exit for the park is delayed. Any reports on game starting time so far? August 21, 2012 6:13 PM _____________________________I can tell you that the Braves BP just ended abruptly!

Not going out tonight — didn't get home until 2:20 this morning, what with my 1-mile trek up New Jersey Ave. to Independence to catch the 36 bus to Friendship heights, then caught a cab to Grosvenor subway, where my car was parked.Hey, Lerners, how about chipping in to keep the Metro open til 1 a.m. so I don't have to act like a sherpa to get home after at 13-inning game>

Harper can't hit left handed pitchers and he is playing tonight. Lombardozzi is in the midst of the hottest hitting streak of his major league career and he continues to rot on the bench. Makes no sense to me.

@NL: It's really a question, I believe, of whether the Lerners want to be perceived as major league or not. Right now, this is akin to Davenport. It figures some suburban shopping mall developers wouldn't give a hoot about people who use mass transit. But in case the Lerners haven't noticed, gas is $4 a gallon.$100,000 an hour, or whatever it costs to keep Metro open, is chump change to these guys. It's the equivalent of 2,000 fans (figuring $50 a head, which may be light, counting concessions.But it's the perception of being small time that will stalk this guys as the national media discovers this crowd for the first time. Plus, the national media may need a ride after they file their stories and videos too.

My daughter and I were aghast that so many people were leaving right before the 9th inning last night with a tie ballgame. Then we found out they announced the last car for the subway. Good thing we didn't take Metro, since we missed the announcement.

NatsLady said… Re: Metro. Almost cheaper for the Lerners to pay your cab fare. $30K per hour to keep Metro open (less the no. of people who ride).Also, like Peking Duck it must be ordered 24 hours in advance. Who knew on Sunday night that it would be needed on Monday?

Here's what frustrates me with Bryce. The book is Left-handers pitch him away away away and he keeps expanding the zone and swinging at balls 6 inches off the plate. I always thought he was a quick learner. Apparently not.

Ghost Of Steve M. said… NatsJack, small sample size on Maholm but that ERA just skyrocketed! August 21, 2012 9:15 PM ______________________________Still need to get that pitch count up and get back into their bullpen which will help for tomorrow!

Gonat said… Here's what frustrates me with Bryce. The book is Left-handers pitch him away away away and he keeps expanding the zone and swinging at balls 6 inches off the plate. I always thought he was a quick learner. Apparently not. August 21, 2012 9:02 PM ________________________________Come on. This isn't even funny anymore.

In fairness to Bryce, besides only being 19, he also gets some calls for strikes outside that are just not fair. That has to be in his head when he swings at those. Plus, there have been a number of ties he has been caught looking. I'm happy to let him develop. He'd be having similar issues in the minors, only we wouldn't care. We'd just hear he was ready to come up and start learning the LB game. But doing it this way, OJT in the Show, once he makes the adjustments in MLB, he's DONE. That is something to think about with a smile.

ehay2k said… In fairness to Bryce, besides only being 19, he also gets some calls for strikes outside that are just not fair. That has to be in his head when he swings at those. Plus, there have been a number of ties he has been caught looking. I'm happy to let him develop. He'd be having similar issues in the minors, only we wouldn't care. We'd just hear he was ready to come up and start learning the LB game. But doing it this way, OJT in the Show, once he makes the adjustments in MLB, he's DONE. That is something to think about with a smile. August 21, 2012 9:24 PM ________________________________The strike zone has been excellent tonight. Can't use that as an excuse unless the ump has a wider zone. Those balls have been in the right-handers batters box.

I agree with you Ghost (can i go with Ghost? That's the first name that came to my mind), but right now Flores isn't playing 4 games a week, he's barely playing 2 in a 7game span. I was thinking more of something like what Pudge and Ramos were doing at the beginning of last season. But Davey is surely doing what he's doing for a reason, and there's no point in complaining for such a small thing.

Doc-you just do not get it that Davey is making JFlo this good by playing him only a couple days a week. Go back and read the threads when JFlo was playing everyday and see how his production fell off.And I really do not understand this hate toward Suzuki you spew. His heads up base running, or lack of, following his hit won last nights game.

Flores was so beat up – his body absorbed a ton of balls – that I'm not sure how he was even still playing. The rest clearly did him good.As for Bryce, he has gotten a LOT of bad calls outside this season, so one night with a tight strike zone may not change his approach, given his lack of experience.

djinFl. said… DC- I expect Werth to spend some time with Harper before tomorrow night and help with the adjustments he needs to make. August 21, 2012 9:37 PM ______________________________I was thinking the same thought but LaRoche as a lefty can maybe help more.